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Dhalsim
Dhalsim (ダルシム, Darushimu) is a video game character from the Street Fighter series of fighting games. Dhalsim is famous throughout the Street Fighter series for his stretchy, lanky body and fire attacks. Description Dhalsim is often depicted with having pupil-less eyes. His build is that of a normal man who exercises and weight trains regularly except for his abdomen and waist which appear much out of proportion and emaciated. His arms are also quite extraordinary in length, and he uses this to create an advantage over his opponents during fights, usually opting to wear them down from the outside. He wears torn yellow saffron shorts, held tied around his waist by a piece of rope, as his only clothing attire as well as yellow saffron wristbands and anklebands. He has three colored stripes adorning his head. In the Street Fighter Alpha series, he wears a turban that he removes before battle, while in the Marvel vs. Capcom series he removes what appears to be a one-shoulder shirt. The skulls he wears around his neck are those of village children that died during a plague. Dhalsim's minimal clothing and necklace of skulls are reminiscent of the Hindu ascetics known as Kapalikas ("skull-bearers") who were often associated macabre practices such as cannibalism and meditating on top of rotting corpses. Like Blanka and Urien, Dhalsim's alternate costumes change his skin color, usually a shade of grey or yellow like the ash that Hindu holymen cover their bodies in. History Street Fighter Alpha 2 During Street Fighter Alpha 2, Dhalsim raises money to save his village, and gains the respect of villagers; some call him "Great Yoga Master Dhalsim". He questions what good could come from his damaging powers. Street Fighter Alpha 3 In Street Fighter Alpha 3, he sets out to destroy the evil M. Bison. He travels around the world and meets Rose and Birdie, and uses his mind control powers to get his answers. He is responsible for making Cammy White self-aware, thus freeing her from Bison's control. He later confronts Bison and destroys the Shadaloo base, but this is not considered canon. Street Fighter II Dhalsim enters the tournament to raise money for his village, but realizes that it contradicts his pacifist beliefs. Dhalsim retires from fighting after the second World Warrior tournament, and continues to roam the world helping those in need. Street Fighter IV Dhalsim makes his return in the Street Fighter IV series, this time to free the flow of water to his village after S.I.N. builds a dam upstream. His son, Datta, is a penpal of Amy, Guile's daughter. When Datta informs Dhalsim that his penpal's father is away on a mission to investigate said dam, Dhalsim recognizes that the situation is even more serious than he thought. He is reluctant to use his powers for self-serving purposes, but feels compelled to save his village. Dhalsim goes to participate in the tournament S.I.N. was organizing. When the dam base is destroyed at the end of the game, the water returns to the village. Although Dhalsim believes that Shadaloo represents an evil in the heart of humanity that will never truly be defeated, he also recognizes that "the goodness in mankind's heart is also endless". Personality Dhalsim is quite stoic, serious, self-disciplined, humble, and also very stern when needed. Being a pacifist, he will never hurt a person more than necessary, or kill an adversary, even the most evil ones such as M. Bison. His pacifistic beliefs also allow him to be a greatly loving father and husband towards his family. As an extremely altruistic man, Dhalsim fights mostly for the poor and oppressed, as he constantly tries his best to raise money for his poverty-stricken people. Dhalsim is aware that if he uses his power to harm, he may become evil, and frequently questions his decisions to use his powers for fighting. Furthermore, all forms of yoga are meant to aid a personal journey towards enlightenment, and not to harm others. Therefore, Dhalsim is constantly concerned about his fighting style overwhelming his own principles of non-violence. In contrast with Ryu's youngster (but still serious and self-focused) type, Dhalsim has a more "mature" and less "enthusiastic" nature, as he regularly relies on his traditional yoga meditation rites to expand his spirituality, and keep his inner neutrality off any emotional involvement that may prejudice his discipline. Dhalsim always remains calm and serene. When he fights, he is always in a constant state of meditation so he can focus on the opponent. He rarely speaks to his opponents outside of calling his attacks, and when he does, his words are riddles that leave the foe confused about his or her own being. Fighting style Dhalsim is the original long-range fighter of fighting games; his intense training has given him the ability to contort and extend his limbs into forms physically impossible for a normal human. He can project his arms and legs outward in order to deliver attacks that would be out of the range of normal limbs, and teleporting to maintain the distance. Dhalsim also has the ability to breathe fire in various ways. In earlier releases, Capcom USA claimed that Dhalsim's ability to breathe fire stemmed from his consumption of curry, but Capcom of Japan changed this to a blessing from Agni, Hindu god of fire, and a later English manual of Super Street Fighter II for the Super Nintendo states that the flames stem from his mastery over fully unleashing his latent kundalini energies in his training. In Super Street Fighter IV, however, Gouken theorizes that it might be an energy-based ability instead. This may also explain Seth's ability to use some of Dhalsim's moves, though it is just as likely that he is more directly mimicking Bison's teleport. Gallery Category:Capcom Characters Category:Street Fighter Characters Category:Arcade Debut Category:All Characters